Bradford's Industrial Revolution

Gaythorne Row

The Gaythorne Row houses, when first built in their original setting of Gaythorne Street, Great Horton, provided shelter, some degree of comfort and became ‘home’ for many families. Many were strangers to the Bradford area. Horton’s growth was determined by the industrial overspill of Bradford.

The stonemason from Addingham and the joiner from Knaresborough living in these houses could have both worked on their construction and as much building work was in progress in Great Horton at that time, Gaythorne Street would be a convenient base.

With textile mills almost on ‘the doorstep’ these houses were not only convenient for the Cotton Warp Dresser, the Woolcomber, and the Woolsorter but also for the weaving wife with a young infant.

The catchment area of Gaythorne Street in 1876/7 was limited to Yorkshire and Lancashire, but by 1881 the area had extended to include Essex, Suffolk and Devon.

In both lists (in the 1876/7 and 1881 Census) almost everyones jobs were related to the manufacture of textiles, with the wide diversity of materials in use at the time – cotton, worsted and alpaca being listed.

The changes in the occupations can be found in the six houses in Gaythorne Street. Family incomes ranged from 127p – 225p per week based on the earnings of the two adults in each family.

You can see actual photographs of people who emigrated to Bradford and lived and worked around the mills in a photographic mini-tour on the Bradford Museums website -
see Related Links below.